Forever
by The Darklight Angel
Summary: The wedding of Maria and Safiria. Next in the shoujoai chain. Sequel to A Brief Glimpse and Come Hell or High Water. It's quite fluffy.


Forever

Hello. Welcome to my newest story. It's the sequel to A Brief Glimpse. That means that this story also takes place in the future. It's about the wedding of Maria Despair and Safiria, queen of the Vampires. For reference, here are the ages of the main characters. Also, this story is shoujo-ai. Like I've said before, if you don't like it, I suggest you leave now. Anyways, let the story begin!

Maria Despair – 26

Rayne Anasi, Lizzie Miura, and Trip Hitai – 20

Blaze Montgomery – 22

Aria – 21 (I think)

Robina & Valencia – 26

Natalya Despair– 30

Disclaimer – I own Rayne, Lizzie, Trip and Blaze. Xenolord owns Maria and Natalya Despair. Other than the characters mentioned above, neither him nor I own any of these characters.

It had been a few months since Maria had proposed to Safiria. Word had gotten out that the X Guardian had proposed to the Vampire, and the reaction was just the same as the reaction for Robina and Valencia's wedding. Both the engaged didn't want to wait long, so they had decided to hold the wedding quite soon. The decided month to hold the wedding was September, which was this month. All those participating in the wedding were quite busy.

Everyone was getting ready for it. Everyone, including our 4 favourite knights. (Well, mine anyways.)

"Wow Aria! Those look great!" Trip exclaimed as she looked through her girlfriend's sketches, sitting beside her on the couch inside the back of the pet shop. It turned out that Aria had quite a talent for designing, as Trip had found out. So, Aria had been assigned to designing the bride's and the bridesmaid's dresses, along with being the wedding planner.

Aria, sitting beside Trip, smiled and blushed at the brown-haired knight's compliment. "Thanks." She said, as she leaned over, and hugged trip, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "But, I really hope we'll be able to finish it before the wedding. It would be a disaster if on the wedding day neither the bride nor the bridesmaids had anything to wear." She said, slight worry crossing her features.

"Oh, don't worry Aria." A voice said from the doorway. The Lycan-slayer and the Beastmaster looked up, to see the commander and the current head knight of the Knights of Rendd. Tathlin had retired a few weeks after the proposal, and the position had been given to Rayne. Although Rayne was the head knight now, everyone was so used to calling her commander that everyone still called her that anyways. Lizzie didn't mind; she disliked being called by her rank anyways. The two had also gotten engaged soon after Maria's proposal.

"With the best seamstresses of Lore helping you out, there's no way that you won't be able to finish it." The redhead beamed at both of them. "I believe you can do it." Rayne said, giving the two a small smile. Both of their words made the pet-shop owner feel much more confident than before.

"Thanks." Aria said once again, smiling back fondly at the pair. "I needed that. Now then, would anyone like some tea?"

Rayne and Lizzie nodded, and sat down on another couch opposite to Trip and Aria's. Aria stood up, and went to the small kitchen to brew some. Trip, still looking through the sketches, finally looked up and noticed the two.

"Oh! Commander, Lizzie, when'd you two get here?" She asked, blinking at the pair surprised.

The couple looked at Trip in disbelief. They shared a look, and turned away, chuckling slightly.

"Nani?" Trip questioned, cocking her head slightly to peer at them. "What's up with you two?"

Rayne, now just smiling, answered her. "Nothing Trip, nothing." She shared another look with her lover and the two almost started laughing again.

"Whatever." Trip said, rolling her eyes. "What're you doing for the wedding anyways?" Trip asked, glancing at the two knights.

"I'm the 'best man' " The raven haired woman said, making quotes with her fingers. Maria had asked her to be one of the two ushers, which were her and Blaze. Maria was going to be the 'groom' of the wedding, and she decided to ask her Blaze and Artix to be the ushers. Rayne had become one of her closest friends over the years, so she decided to ask her to be 'the 'best man'.

"Isn't it a bit odd that she ask a woman to be the best man?" she asked her commander, giving her a puzzled glance.

"She said, and I quote "No way am I letting the other two be the best man. Artix is still trying to be a playboy and Blaze is lazy guy, so I'm letting you.' Anyways, it's a hell lot better than wearing a dress." The commander shuddered as she thought of the dastardly garment.

"Oh, so Rayney's still a tomboy?" Lizzie smirked, staring at her girlfriend with a teasing look in her eyes.

"Hey; I was born a tomboy and I'll die one." Rayne stated, a confident look plastered on her face.

Trip stared at the woman for a minute, and then turned to the redheaded girl. Rayne face faulted into the ground.

"You're the maid of honour, right Lizzie?" Trip asked her. Lizzie nodded her head vigorously. Safiria had become fond of 'Saya' and 'Elizabeth' (as she liked to call them) and Aria, after they saved her from a surprise Lycan attack. For that, she had made sure the 3 would be in the wedding.

"Then you'll wanna look at the dresses." Trip said cheerfully, and handed her the notebook with all the sketches. "Anyways, I'm going to go see what's taking Aria so long." With that, Trip stood up, passed a sulking Rayne, and headed to the kitchen.

"These are pretty good." Lizzie mused. She turned to her pouting lover. "Comon Rayne, stop sulking." She said to her.

"Hnng." Was all that was heard.

Lizzie sighed, grabbed Rayne by her collar, and pulled her in for a bruising kiss. She held it for a few seconds, and pulled away.

"Now will you stop?" The redhead smirked at her. "Mm-kay." Rayne breathed, a dazed look in her eyes.

"Good." Lizzie said, and turned back to the sketches. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she noticed something in the book. "Hey, Rayne, she even made a special outfit for you." Lizzie pointed out to the dark-haired woman.

"Really? Let me see.." Rayne said, shaking off her dreamy state, and leaned in closer to look at the sketches. Her outfit for the wedding looked a lot like a tux, but looked the size for a woman. _'How did she get my measurements?' _Rayne thought as she noticed some numbers written along the side of the sketch.

"It looks nice." The commander said, and looked at the sketch once again. "Mm." The other knight agreed.

It was silent for a moment, before a "No, don't!" and a CRASH was heard from the kitchen.

The Pria knights shared their third look of night, and rushed off to the kitchen.

* * *

Mara Despair was not a jittery person. In fact, she was quite the opposite. She was brash and headstrong, usually acting without thinking. She had done quite a lot of monster slaying faced horrors that some people would never dream of, and had single-handedly taken care of Carnax. By now, you would expect her to never be hesitant, scared, or worried over anything. But that didn't stop her from pacing around Safiria's parlour, muttering to herself, clearly looking worried.

Safiria entered the room, and sighed at the sight of her fiancé. Ever since the first of September, Maria had been distraught over something, and had been flustered and twitchy.

Safiria went to the guardian, and pulled the woman into her arms. Maria returned the embrace, but Safiria could feel that she was still tense.

"Kitten, you need to relax." Her voice, still refined as it had ever been, held a tone of gentle affection reserved only for Maria. Safiria led her to a seat in the parlour, sat her down, and started rubbing her shoulders soothingly. Maria relaxed – but only slightly.

"I want to Safiria." Maria mumbled, turning her head slightly to meet eyes with the vampire queen. "But I'm worried. I want our wedding to be perfect…but what if something goes wrong? What if some monster somehow manages to get into the wedding? I'm a guardian, so many monsters dislike me, and you're the vampire queen, so the Lycans probably wouldn't mind getting their filthy paws on you, and I think a few humans still hold a grudge. And I don't ever want to lose you Safiria!" Maria's voice started wavering when she said that. It was so unlike her, that seeing that happen to Maria broke the queen's heart.

Safiria slowed the rubbing, and tipped her partner's head up for a gentle kiss. "You wont lose me Maria. I promise. Not to mention that it would be very unlikely for a Lycan or a monster to get in. And, even if one did, they'd have to go through the best fighters in Lore, would they not? Except for Krieger, of course." Maria laughed quietly at Safiria's joke, her unhappiness seemingly clearing up instantly. It seemed to Maria that whenever Safiria was around, everything was better. She smiled to herself, her love for the vampire growing even more.

"Thank you milady, I really needed that." Maria's chivalrous side kicked in as she stood up, took Safiria's pale hand in her own, and kissed it. Safiria just smiled and whispered quietly into Maria's ear as she pulled her into another hug "You've been saying around Rayne too much." (Rayne's a knight. Knights are very chivalrous. Get it?) Both females laughed, and sighed contentedly as their lips met once again.

* * *

Back in Rendd, around that time…

Rayne sneezed suddenly. Lizzie raised her head from Rayne's shoulder to give her a questioning look. "You all right Rayne? Do you have a cold?"

Rayne nodded. "I'm fine. It was just a sneeze. Maybe someone is talking about me?" Rayne mused, and the lovers smiled at each other. Lizzie rested her head on Rayne's shoulder once more, and Rayne resumed stroking the redhead's hair.

"Good, cause we can't have you getting sick so close to the wedding. Maria would kill you if her 'best man' couldn't come." Rayne laughed softly at her comment.

"Speaking of weddings…" Lizzie lifted her hand to admire the silver engagement ring that Rayne had got her. "When should we have ours?"

Rayne looked thoughtful, and kept stroking the woman's hair. "How about in December? It'd be nice, having our wedding anniversary near Frostval and all. Sort of calming, and quaint, and-""Romantic?" Lizzie cut in. "Really Rayne, for a so called tomboy, you're act so much like a girly-girl!" She exclaimed. Rayne, (just like Robina usually did when she was embarrassed), ducked her head and blushed. Lizzie giggled. Her fiancé was so cute when she did that. _'Fiancé. I like the sound of that.'_ Lizzie thought while looking her with adoration. A mischievous look appeared in her eyes.

"But, then again…" Lizzie said, eyes twinkling, "Girly-girls don't usually have middles like these, do they?" Rayne's breath hitched as Lizzie snuck her hand up her shirt and traced her slight definition. Protecting the innocent almost every day did that to you. "Lizzie! W-what are you d-d-doing?!' Rayne stuttered. "What's wrong Rayne? I'm just showing you what I mean." Lizzie innocently said, by then tracing circles.

"Tease…" Rayne muttered lowly, a quiet moan escaping her mouth. "What was that Rayne? I couldn't quite hear you." Lizzie grinned as her commander moaned again. Rayne was usually cool, calm, and in charge, so whenever Lizzie had a chance to take control over her girlfriend, she did. _'And I do enjoy so very, very much.' _

Lizzie was snapped out of her thoughts when she realized Rayne had flipped her and she was pinned down against the bed, her arms held above her head. Lizzie stared into Rayne's eyes, meeting her girl's taunting gaze. Rayne leaned forward slightly, and murmured into Lizzie's ear:

"I said that you were a tease. Now it's my turn." Rayne suddenly sat up, and started tickling Lizzie. "Rayne! S-stop!" Lizzie laughed out. Rayne knew that one of her only weaknesses was that she was ticklish, and she decided to exploit that fact in every way possible.

"Nah-uh. Lizzie." She stated, her confident smirk appearing on her face. She tickled her mercilessly, until Lizzie collapsed in a fit of giggles. Once her laughter subsided, she turned to face Rayne (they had somehow moved back to their original position) and said to her in a stern tone "Rayne, you know I hate it when you do that." She then surprised Rayne by grabbing her collar once again, and pulling her in for another kiss, this time gentle. Lizzie moved back, this time she herself blushing, and said to her, all sternness melting away "But I love you when you do it anyways." Both women smiled at each other again.

Lizzie yawned, curled up cutely against Rayne's side, and immediately fell asleep. Rayne, the smile still on her face, snapped her fingers, causing all the lights to go out. Before falling asleep, Rayne traced a finger along the redheads jaw, and whispered out "Love you too." Before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

The weeks passed, and soon it was the day before the wedding. Aria and the seamstresses had finally completed the clothes for the wedding. The wedding was to be held at 1:00 in the afternoon. Warlic had created a special pendant that would allow Safiria to go out into the sun, so that solved the light problem. Safiria, with no one to really call her father, had asked Natalya to walk her down the aisle. Natalya, although shocked, was quite pleased and agreed enthusiastically. The two had done everything that people would usually do. Maria had had a bachelor's party, (a wild, fighting, slight alcohol-induced one, in which only Rayne and Yulgar could keep up with Maria) and Safiria had had a bridal shower.

At that time, about dusk, they were playing out the wedding rehearsal. Everyone was wearing casual clothing (Safiria had even changed out of her usual dress into a lighter gown) and no armour. All the weapons that everyone usually had were neatly lined up against the wall, to where anyone could reach them when needed.

"Okay, so after that, you will exchange rings, alright?" Aria said to the couple. They nodded to her, hanging onto every word. "Well then, I think we're done." Aria smiled, and clapped her hands together. "Who wants dinner?"

A chorus of cheers was heard all throughout the room. Aria laughed, and pulled out the portal-matic (the portal-creator) fiddled and pressed the knob. A blue ring of energy appeared, and Aria jumped through it. There was a near stampede to get to the portal, and Rayne, saving time, put 2 fingers to her mouth, and whistled shrilly. All shoving and scrambling stopped. "Half of you go through this one." She yelled, and snapped her fingers, an identical portal opening up, except the energy it seemed to be made up of was white. She ushered Trip, Lizzie, and Blaze through it, and turned towards it. Before she went through, she turned around, and yelled to the hunger-crazed people "NOW you can shove." With that, she turned around and walked through it. All stampeding activities continued a second after that.

Once everyone was through the portal and inside Yulgar's Inn, the dinner commenced. Everyone was laughing and chatting and having a good time, and it looked, Maria especially. But when the guardian excused herself and climbed up the stairs of the Inn, her laidback attitude disappeared.

After watching Maria walk upstairs, Safiria left the ground floor and followed her. Yulgar had expanded his inn at about the same time as Aria had expanded her shop, and the expansion had included a balcony. That was where the Vampire queen had found her 'groom'. She was staring up at the now-starry sky, looking thoughtful.

"You alright kitten?" Safiria asked her, walking up beside the woman. You could tell that Maria was clearly deep in thought. "Hmm? I'm fine dearest." Maria responded absent-mindedly. She surprised both of them by sweeping Safiria into her arms, embracing her from behind. Safiria relaxed against her. The pair stayed like that for a while.

"Tomorrow's the big day." Maria said suddenly. "Mm." Safiria agreed. It was silent for a moment, before Maria spoke up again. "I don't deserve you Safiria. You're too good to me." Safiria turned around in her arms and looked at Maria, with slight anger in her eyes. "Don't ever say that Maria. You knew that I was the vampire queen, and when I fainted, you could've just left me alone with Zorbak. But you stayed with me until I woke up, at the expense of your own time. I'm the one that doesn't deserve you." At this outbreak, Safiria looked like she was ready to cry. Maria stared at her for a few seconds, before tilting up the vampress' chin and kissing her gently.

"Safiria, lets stop this talk of who deserves who and whatnot. Tomorrow we'll be married, and I promise I'll take care of you." With Maria's words, Safiria seemed to calm down greatly. "Now then, let's stop all this serious talk, and let's go back downstairs to that dinner party, okay?" Safiria nodded, by then smiling happily. With that, The guardian and the Vampress returned to the dinner hand in hand.

* * *

The night passed quickly, and soon it was wedding time. Maria was extremely cheerful, and her only despairs (no pun intended) was that her sister was not there yet, and she couldn't see her fiancée until later. She was finishing putting on the Vamp armour (minus the cape, plus a tie) that Safiria had given her (Safiria had insisted that she wear it.)

"Where the hell could she be? She knows today is the special day, she's got a damn important part in the wedding, and yet she's not here yet." Maria mumbled, checking the time on her portal-matic. "I'm here Maria." A familiar voice choked out behind her. Maria turned around to see her sister Natalya behind her. "I can't believe you're getting married before me." She said, walking forward to fix Maria's tie. "Believe me, neither can I." Maria admitted. The elder Despair sister chuckled at her comment.

Her face turned serious, and Natalya spoke up suddenly. "Maria? Just because you're getting married will never change the facts that we're sisters, alright?" She said forcefully. Maria blinked, taken aback by her tone, before nodding. "It never will. Sisters?" Maria held out her pinkie finger solemnly. Natalya grinned at her, and hooked hers with Maria's. "Sisters." She stated confidently. They stood like that, pinkies hooked for a moment. While the action may have seemed childish, it was the sign of the strong bond that the Despair sisters held. If you just had a brief glimpse of them, you could tell that they were dead serious.

Natalya unhooked her pinkie from Maria, and grinned at her little sister. She turned, and walked out of the room. "You'd better hurry sis, the wedding's about to start." She called out teasingly to Maria. Maria looked to the mortal-matic, cursed, and ran out of the room and into the chapel. Natalya chuckled, and went to fetch Safiria.

A very short time later…

A gasp was issued from the crowd. Maria stared at the sight before her. Natalya was walking down the aisle, with Safiria in a silk, blue-white wedding dress on her arm. _'She looks…amazing._' Maria thought, watching her coming closer. Natalya brought her to the front, and with a wink to Maria, mouthed 'she's all yours.' She turned back, and headed to her seat.

Warlic, who was filling in for a priest, decked out in white robes, looked to the audience and whispered to the couple in front of him, "Are we ready?" Maria nodded, and Warlic began the words that had been recited so many times before.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite these two in…"

Maria slid the ring onto Safiria's left hand, smiling lovingly at her. "I, Maria Despair, take you, Safiria, to be my lawfully wedded wife…to love and to cherish, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, through sickness and in health, all the days of my life"

Safiria smiled back at her, and slid the ring onto Maria's left hand. "And I, Safiria, take you, Maria Despair, to be my lawfully wedded wife… to love and to cherish, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, through sickness and in health, all the days of my life."

Warlic smiled at the two, and clapped the book he had been reading out of closed. "Then, with my great pleasure, I now pronounce you Mrs. And Mrs. Despair. You may now kiss the bride."

A wild cheer was heard from everyone as Maria lifted Safiria's veil, and kissed her passionately. Safiria Despair smiled happily into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Maria.

Everyone stood up and clapped along with their wild cheering. The two broke apart and turned to the crowd, and started walking back the aisle, with Maria's arm possessively around her new wife. Rayne and Lizzie grinned at each other, both hoping their wedding to be as perfect as this one, and then started after the newlyweds, cheering just as loudly as everyone else.

* * *

"Time to throw the bouquet!" Maria exclaimed, as Safiria took her position in front of everyone. Lizzie, Trip, Aria, Robina, and a crowd of Battleonian women ran behind her, all eagerly hoping to catch it. Safiria closed her eyes, and threw it behind her. The bouquet soared through the air for a few seconds, then landed amongst the crowd. Aria emerged a second later, blushing and holding the beautiful bouquet in front of her. The Beastmaster looked at it fondly for a minute, before looking at Trip hopefully, her blush intensifying.

Trip grinned at her, her eyebrows raised, then walked over to Aria. She took Aria's hand in hers, then pulled out a small velvet box. She got down onto one knee, and opened it to reveal a gold band with 3 diamonds set in it. "Aria, please, do me the honour of becoming Mrs. Hitai. Marry me?" She asked hopefully, her ever confident grin still on her face. Aria glomped her, and kissed her in front of everyone. "Ooooh" was heard from the crowd. Aria pulled back, and said to her, loud enough for everyone to hear

"Yes! I will marry you Saya Hitai!"

The crowed cheered, even louder then they had for the wedding, at the site of the two. Trip stood up, slung her arm around Aria, and hugged her. Rayne and Lizzie broke through the crowd, and Rayne yelled to her "Trip!"

"Yes commander?" Trip asked, still embracing her fiancée. "Maybe we can hold a double wedding?" Rayne asked, gesturing to her and Lizzie, a smile working itself upon her face. The crowd cheered louder than ever before, at the knowledge of the Knights' engagement. Their engagement had been unknown to almost all. Trip grinned once more, wider than ever "Sure thing Rayne!" She yelled back to her.

Blaze, standing next to Artix, grinned, and asked casually "What's with all the weddings?" Artix chuckled softly, and shook his head. "We'll just have to get used to these clothes Blaze." The Knight and the Paladin, laughed, and returned to watching the 2 couples, now being mobbed by everyone.

* * *

Safiria smiled and sat down on the bed of the suite. The two had decided to hold their honeymoon in Lolosia. Safiria was amazed at how fast they day had gone. Safiria felt strong arms encircle her waist, and she leaned into the touch, just like she had so many times before.

"From the moment that we said our vows, you became Safiria Despair. I promise that I will always take care of you." Maria purred into her wife's ear. She pinned her down onto the bed, and whispered seductively "Especially like this." Maria leaned down, and began to pleasure Safiria, as she had many times before.

From the moment when Maria first met Safiria, something had sparked in both of them. That spark had grown to something that both of them never expected, but enjoyed fully. From the magic day of their wedding, they began a new chapter. Not simply as Maria and Safiria but as Mrs and Mrs. Despair.

The End

Hope you liked it! I know that I did. It took me so long to write, but I'm very satisfied. This story still takes place in the Shoujo-ai chain that Xenolord and I have going on. Review, or don't review, that is your choice. Ja ne!


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